martha: we have to hang in here for 13 more days. bill: is that is okay, right? a lot of fun. it is wednesday so that is radio. martha: that's right. we have a lot more time to talk which is what we like. "happening now" starts right now, everybody. see you tomorrow. jenna: we're going to start off with a fox news alert. want to take you straight to georgia right now, a suburb of atlanta, georgia, where a shooting just took place in a church we understand it. not just any church. one of the big megachurches down south. the name of that church, world changers international outside of atlanta. here is what we know. a shooting happened just this morning. we do know there was a service taking place in the chapel on this campus around 10:00 this morning. we don't know anymore details other than there has been a description of a suspect, a black man in his 30's wearing a suit and tie.

he fled the scene after the shooting. we don't know whether police are following him or where he went. we do know at least one person was hit. cpr was performed on the victim. the victim's status we don't know. we're getting life helicopter shots here. this church for context is headed up by a pastor named dollar. might remember the pastor a couple months ago made a headlines for hitting his 15-year-old daughter. that is picture there of pastor dollar. not that these two incidents have anything to do with themselves but you might recognize the church name, world changers church international or the pastor again. i believe this is the car, i'm getting word in from our assign meant desk, the krep low dollar, this might be his car, get being into a car to go somewhere, where he is headed. a lot of questions remain. a shooting at the chapel of this church this morning and more questions than answers

at this point. as we get more information we'll bring that to you first we have brand new stories and more breaking news. jon: new information on the deadly terror attack at the consulate in benghazi, libya. what a string of e-mails reveals about who know what and when. two weeks before the election day the battle for the white house getting even more intense. we'll have the latest from the campaigns. twefled girl found in a recycling bin. two teenage boys charged with her murder. the clue from their own mother which helped break the case. it is all "happening now.". jon: brand new response from the white house to those newly-released e-mails showing within hours of the deadly attack on our consulate in libya the white house was told terrorists were claiming responsibility. good morning to you, i'm

jon scott. jenna: i'm jenna lee. new reaction to state department e-mails just now seeing the light of day. this information went out to about 400 top national security military, and dip low mastic officials, almost in realtime as this attack that you're seeing on your screen was happening. it is raising serious new questions about what the white house knew and when, and why the administration would claim days afterwards that the attack was a spontaneous reaction to a film. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington. catherine, certainly we looked at a lot of e-mails over the last few weeks. what is so significant about these? >> reporter: jenna, these new documents first obtained by fox news appear to be among the most significant we've seen to date on the libya scandal as. e-mail traffic takes the real time information on the attack and those suspected of being responsible inside the white house situation room. this brings the national security advisor tom donilon, director of national intelligence, nation's most

senior intelligence official, james clapper and white house counterterrorism advisor john brennan directly into the loop as they would be cleared on this e-mail traffic. the key player here of course is cia director david petraeus. one e-mail sounds the alarm a islamist group. ansar al-sharia was claiming responsibility for the attack, quote, embassy tripoli reports that the group claimed responsibility on facebook and twitter and called for an embassy attack on tripoli. these are growing evidence that raises questions about the administration's initial assessment pointed to the video and created more confusion on capitol hill. >> what bothered me and other members. intelligence committee day one we got pushback from the white house and as well as the intelligence community early on. we couldn't figure it out and it was strange because they never do that. >> reporter: this group, ansar al-sharia wants to establish a islamic state in eastern libya. later in a news conference in libya the group publicly denied responsibility though

our reporting here at fox indicates the attack was a joint operation of ansar al-sharia and elements of al qaeda in north africa, jenna. jenna: catherine what is the white house response at this time? report or the early this morning the spokesman for the national security council replied in rather testy e-mail that was more of the same and the e-mails about the attacks in retime did not show intelligence assessments and telling reporters on air force one there was variety of information coming in. the whole point of intelligence community what they do assess strands of information and make judgments what happened and who was responsible. what is implicit in that statement the immediate intelligence that pointed to terrorism was dismissed by the white house and this is an act of comission, not an act of omission, jenna. jenna: certainly a lot more to talk about here. catherine, thank you very much. >> reporter: you're welcome. jenna: we're watching a couple things now. state state is going to be holding a joint press

conference in a little while. she is having a meeting with the brazilian foreign minister. there is live look at the state department. even though they have their own agenda when they come out there might be more questions about this. we'll watch the press conference for you. we'll speak with former u.n. ambassador to the u.n. john bolton about what this new information is revealing about the story. what is the significance and what is really next? big questions ahead here on "happening now.". jon: take you inside america's election headquarters now. less than two weeks away from election day and it's all coming down to the swing states as this race gets even tighter. the real clear average of political polls showing governor romney with a slight edge leading the president 48 to 47%. joining us now, drucker the associate politics editor at "roll call." the president is out now touting his economic plans for the second term in this glossy new brochure that i guess will get mailed

to several million households. why now, david? >> well, the president's taken a lot of flak from his own supporters, people in his own party, for not presenting a brand new second term agenda. in other words, proposals that, maybe some proposals left over from the first term that he didn't complete but things that are completely brand new. i'm actually surprised he someti predicted and i was wrong. the president has offered new goals but he hasn't offered really new programs. and i think that the campaign must have felt that that idea was hurting him with voters. so i think they're trying to move to correct it. jon: there was a quote this morning on the political website, "politico", that i want toe share with you and get reaction to it. glen thrush says everything was going well for barack obama until 9:04 on october

3rd. when mitt romney started everybody by refusing to live up to the care caricature as the worst candidate ever. does that suggest all the advertising that the president had done evaporated at the denver podium. >> i wouldn't say it evaporated. we still have a very close race. mitt romney in many of these states still in a sense has to make it clear in the voters that he is not the guy they're seeing in the ads. there is still a ton of ads. clearly voters saw something completely different than they had they had expected. one thing i point out, mitt romney did extremely well in the debate. it clearly changed the nature of this race but you have to wonder what if he had been able to present that kind of a picture to voters much earlier in the campaign? where would he be now if he was able to do so much in just one evening? jon: yeah. is that why the president especially in the last debate kept accusing romney of changing his positions and say, that is not how you

said it x number of months ago, that kind of thing? >> well, look the president's strategy from day one to disqualify mitt romney in the eyes of voters. not just to say he is wrong but make him completely unpalatable so he not a viable alternative. overall that strategy has failed and something that the president and his team continue to stick to. that is how they see overcoming the first term record and economic record as many voters see it, which is clearly saddled the president, in fact i think it those shows you how good the president has done to defy graph tri given how people feel about the economy and overall direction of the country even though that polling has tightened in some areas. that is the president's strategy. he is sticking to it. i think mitt romney is trying to present himself as who has a second term agenda that will work out better than the last four years and we'll see how it works in the states that matter. jon: it is about motivating the base at this point.

>> well, at this point, with a race so close you want to make sure everyone of your supporters turns out. there is some undecided voters out there, not many but enough. you want to get to them, want to get to the independents. and you want to make sure that there is a lot of enthusiasm and momentum on your side if you can and so i think that's what you see both sides trying to do and especially when you have races that are going to be decided by just a couple of points, things like ground game and base enthusiasm, and the general idea that you're a winner can really make a difference. jon: david drucker, from "roll call." going to be fascinating these last, well, less than two weeks. david, thank you. >> thanks a lot. jenna: 10 minutes from the top of the hour. we want to talk a little bit the economy now. remember the keystone pipeline project, remember that? the system would transport oil from canada to the united states? it sparked a whole lot of controversy including lawsuits from oil refineries, criticism from environmentalists. the president had to weigh

in as well. whatever happened to it? where does it stand today? liz macdonald with the fox business network has a live update on that. liz? >> reporter: good to be with you, jenna. basically transcanada is still waiting for the state department to decide next year on whether or not it can build the keystone pipeline out of canada, through nebraska, all the way down into cushing and then into the gulf coast. it is building from cushing to the gulf coast right now. but because still crosses you know, an international border the state department has to weigh in and basically approve the permit before transcanada can move on the upper part of that keystone pipeline. jenna: a little bit of a wait and see right now. >> yeah, that's right. jenna: so much about jobs i understand. there is new information about what the oil industry and other industries related to energy really, how it impacts job growth here in the united states. tell us about that. >> reporter: there is new report out by ihs global insight and leading

consultancy. vice-chair, there, leader there is daniel yergin. he is an expert on oil and gas. and this report shows that the u.s. unconventional oil and gas industry is already adding an estimated 1.7 million jobs to the u.s. economy and that number is expected to basically double in 20 years to more than 3.4 million jobs. so this is really interesting report that's raising a lot of eyebrows because it is also estimating how much the unconventional oil and natural gas industry which is essentially fracking will add to u.s. gdp the estimates 237 billion bucks this year to gdp is being added and that will rise to $475 billion in the next couple of decades, jenna. jenna: that gives us and indication where real job growth could potentially come from. liz, that is something we're continuing to watch. thank you so much. >> reporter: sure. delighted. jon: this fox news weather alert. it had been tropical storm sandy but the folks at the

national hurricane center in miami just now upgraded this thing that you see swirling there south of jamaica and cuba, it has been upgraded to a hurricane. the forecast track is still the same. expected to take it roughly parallel to the east coast of the united states but across the bahamas and cuba in the process. we'll keep an eye on hurricane sandy, now a category 1 storm. we'll have the latest for you from the fox weather center. jenna: a decade after he was convicted of killing his neighbor, kennedy cousin michael skakel could get out of prison. he is currently serving 20 years to life for martha moxley's murder. why that could change today. we'll tell you about that. we're certainly keeping an eye on the economy a day after it plunges 200 points a rough day for the markets. concerns about the economy and how it could potentially impact the election and your pocketbook. that's coming up. i'm a conservative investor.

i invest in what i know. i turned 65 last week. i'm getting married. planning a life. there are risks, sure. but, there's no reward without it. i want to be prepared for the long haul.

i see a world bursting with opportunities. india, china, brazil, ishares, small-caps, large-caps, ishares. industrials. low cost. every dollar counts. ishares. income. dividends. bonds. i like bonds. ishares. commodities. diversification. choices. my own ideas. ishares. i want to use the same stuff the big guys use. ishares. 8 out of 10 large, professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. introducing the ishares core, etfs for the heart of your portfolio. tax efficient and low cost building blocks to help you keep more of what you earn. call your advisor. visit ishares.com. ishares. ishares. yeah, ishares. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing.

jenna: right now some new concerns about the economy. let's go ahead and take a live look where the dow is trading today. it's not quite as exciting as it was yesterday. i say exciting in air quotes because really we saw the dow down more than 200 points yesterday. it was the biggest loss in several months. in fact listen to this. u.s. stocks lost $500 billion in just three days, $500 billion. you haven't been paying as much attention to the markets right with everything happening in politics. what does it mean for the economy? how could it impact the election as well? steve moore, economics writer at "the wall street journal", author of the book entitled. "who is the fairest of them all". question, ironically jon asks himself in make up every day. steve, congratulations about the new book. we'll ask you about that in a second. what is going on with the markets? >> every time, jenna, you think slumbering giant u.s.

economy will pick itself up it faulters again. that's what we're seeing this week. we've seen a 500 point decline in the market. the reason that happened because of lousy earnings reports from every company to three come to companies like xerox. that is because people aren't spending. they're not just going out spending and showing. jenna: what are the reasons companies are giving from the results that are just not hitting expectations? what are they saying? >> american companies have done an incredibly great job of reducing the fat, sucking in their guts, getting rid of inefficiencies. they're just incredibly efficient right now. the problem is american consumers are not going to the stores and shopping. we're still in this cloud of fear about what the future holds. i think part of this might be released when the election is over. right now, there is old saying in the stock market. driven by two emotion, greed and fear, right? fear is the one that is overriding factor right now. jenna: something we heard over the last several years in fact when it comes to the economy is fingerpointing at

europe. the real issue here isn't us. we're better. it is more about europe. how true is that? >> certainly europe is a drag, no question about it. but look, the united states of america is the hub of the world economy and every other country is a spoke. i think actually the problem with europe, china has actually slowed down a bit too, that the u.s. economy isn't growing. the truth the rest of the world can't grow if we're not growing. when we're growing at 1.3% that is not consumer demand to grow the world economy. jenna: we do see some statistics -- >> housing is better, a lot better. jenna: jobless claims although choppy tend to show less people filing for unemployment. >> that's right. it is hard to predict where the economy is headed. you're right, one day we get a positive report. next day we get a negative report. look, we haven't built housing in this country in four years. you're starting to see pick up in construction jobs. jenna: it is hard to plan for your family or your company. >> it is. jenna: one thing your book is asking is about that.

it becomes relevant in the election as well. it is about fairness. >> that is the whole theme of the president's re-election. jenna: what is fair for taxes and what is fair for military spending. >> i will slip you the answer. in 30 seconds the theme of the book is the fairest system of them all is the free enterprise system. that is what creates the most jobs. that creates most opportunity and most wealth for most americans and the truth is, the reason the united states of america has become the richest country in the world we have the free enterprise system. doesn't guaranty everyone will get rich. it guaranties everyone has the opportunity. i think my motivation for writing the book i'm worried what we're doing to the free enterprise system? we abandoned it for socialist model with big welfare state, high tax rates. jenna, that is the europe model, that is collapsing over there. jenna: we saw what happened to the queen in snow white kept asking the question. >> mirror, mirror. jenna: maybe there is a less on in there -- lesson in there somewhere.

steve, thank you and congratulations on the book. >> thank you, jenna, airses in a murder. woman and children found dead in california. the crime scene shocking even veteran police officers. who could behind this terrible crime? plus new reaction to e-mails received almost in realtime as the u.s. consulate in libya was unattack. what did the white house know and when? ambassador john bolton joins us. oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

to tell real people about our new 15 under $15 menu. oh my goodness! oh my gosh, this looks amazing! that's a good deal! [ man ] wow! it is so good! [ male announcer ] our new maine stays! 15 entrees under $15, seafoodchicken and more! oo! the tilapia with roasted vegetables! i'mctually looking at the wd grilled chicken with portobello wine sauce. you so fascinated by the prices, you keep rambling on! i know! -that pork chop was great! -no more fast food friday's! so we gotta go! we're going to go to red lobster. yep. [ male announcer ] try our 15 under $15 menu and sea food differently!

jon: breaking news now out of california where police have made an arrest in a triple murder, a murder so brutal even veteran law enforcement officers are shocked. rick folbaum at the breaking news desk with that. rick? >> reporter: these developments coming in within the last couple hours, jon. police have somebody in custody in this case. i've got to tell you right

off the bat this is horrible story. a woman and two of her children aged one and three, brutally murdered inside their home and police have not said exactly how they were killed but they are describing the murder scene as gruesome. they say a lot of trauma on the bodies. this is jason ramos from the county sheriff's office. >> they were directed to the home. went inside, and, i'm sorry, i need a minute. i'm sorry. >> reporter: apparently the husband of the woman killed, the murdered children's father, came home, discovered the bodies, ran to a neighbor's house to call 911. police came. they found an infant who was alive unharmed in a crib in a back room. the break in the case came when police spotted the family's missing minivan at a denny's restaurant around 2:00 this morning. the man who was taken in for questioning apparently in possession of that van. really all we know right now, jon. as we learn more we'll pass

it along. jon: sounds like absolutely awful situation. i'm glad they have an arrest. rick folbaum, thank you. jenna: now this fox news alert, secretary of state hillary clinton holding a news conference right now at the state department. she's holding that with the brazilian foreign minister with whom she was meeting with today. we'll show you live pictures of that as we get it. as the secretary of state weighs in on new information we've been talking about when it comes to libya we'll bring you there right away and show you some of those comments. meantime as they get started there we've been reporting this morning new e-mails are revealing terrorists claimed responsibility for attack on our consulate almost as it was happening. what does this tell us about the administration's handling of this tragedy? more importantly, what's next? john bolton is a former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and fox news contributor. ambassador bolton, now what? >> well i think these e-mails reveal quite a bit about the administration's

failure to respond adequately to the attack as it was taking place. and if you look at the e-mails themselves, there is one up on the fox news website right now that indicates who the recipients were. individual names were redacted by whom gave fox these e-mails but some position descriptions were not removed. you know, the state department uses letters to designate individual positions. so for example, this e-mail says, s, specialties assistance. s is the denominator for the secretary of state. so secretary clinton's special assistants got the e-mail in realtime. it goes on to say, d, b. that is the deputy secretary of state, bill burns, the number two official. goes on like that. i won't go through the whole list but what this shows absolutely the top level of the state department was getting these e-mails and in any state department i've ever been in, if the special assistants to the secretary

are getting e-mails saying ansar al-sharia has taken credit for this terrorist attack, you better believe they would be putting it on her desk. and i think that's, it's also applicable to what we can see from the other e-mails that the director of national intelligence office got them, the national security staff in the executive office of the president, the pentagon, the fbi, were all getting e-mails in realtime. so the recipients of the e-mails, even though the personal names are redacted, in terms of the positions right at the top of the state department and the rest of the government. jenna: ambassador, let me ask you this question, take this in a little direction than we've been talking about for the last several weeks. if you're our enemy and you're ansar al-sharia and you're watching this play out in washington over the last several weeks, what do you think the message is to our enemies as this infighting is going on about what we knew and when and what this was? what is the message that we're sending them? >> well i think it sends a

message of weakness. i hope the administration is preparing some kind of retaliation against the people who perpetrated this. i don't think this is a case where we want to arrest them and bring them it trial. i think we want to kill them. and it may be that they are. it may be that will happen. not that there's much evidence of it but so far, it's now over a month since september the 11th and there has been no retaliation. in yemen a senior security guard at our embassy there, a yemeni national, was assassinated a couple weeks ago by terrorists undoubtedly, a message to yemenies and others this is the price you will pay if you work for the americans so that the risk of additional attacks i think is real and i think that actually shows up here in these e-mails too. jenna: ambassador, we just heard from secretary of state hillary clinton. we're going to grab that sound from her. we would like a reaction from you after the break as well as some of the president's comments wanting to be patient before calling

this a terrorist attack. we're going to take a quick break. we'll be right back with more "happening now.". jon: also back to a fox news alert that we brought you at the top of the hour. that church shooting in georgia. we are told now by authorities that one person has died. this at a so-called, megachurch in college park, georgia, a suburb of atlanta. one person has been killed in that shooting. it took place about an hour and a half ago. the search for the gunman as far as we know is still on. it took place at the world changers church international in college park, inside their chapel where services were underway. the suspect said to be wearing a suit and tie. that's the latest information. we'll get more as the day proceeds bob...

oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor.

wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.

jenna: we have fresh sound from secretary of state hillary clinton who just talked a little bit about libya, the terror attack in benghazi and these new e-mails that have come to light that fox news has obtained suggesting a al qaeda linked group claimed responsibility, was talking about this terror attack as it was happening at our consulate. let's take a listen to the secretary of state. >> now, finally on benghazi, look, i've said it and i will say it one more time. no one wants to find out what happened more than i do. we are holding ourselves

accountable to the american people. because not only they but our brave diplomats and development experts serving in dangerous places around the world deserve no less. the independent accountability review board is already hard at work looking at everything, not cherry-picking, you know, one story here or one document there but looking at everything, which i highly recommend as the appropriate approach to something as complex as, an attack like this. you know, posting something on facebook is not in and of itself evidence. and i think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be. what i keep in mind is that four brave americans were killed and we will find out

what happened. we will take whatever measures are necessary to fix anything that needs to be fixed, and we will bring those to justice who committed these murders. and i think that, that is, that is what we have said. that is what we're doing and i'm very confident that we will achieve those goals. jenna: ambassador bolton is back with us. ambassador, your response to that? >> i'm shocked by the secretary's approach here, as if this is sort of an academic exercise and i think these e-mails reveal the fundamental breakdown in handling the attack in realtime. been a lot of discussion in the past month or so about whether it's a cover-up and where this mohammed video story fits in but i think that the real question is why wasn't the state department and the administration responding to the risks that were being exposed as they actually happened? you know, it's a mistake to look at this historically, to look back and say, well,

it was only one facility that was attack and it only lasted for seven hours. the judgment we should make about the administration's performance is, what were the decision-makers doing in realtime? and it's clear not only with respect to the consulate in benghazi but more broadly they didn't react, they didn't bring assets to bear. the e-mail, for example, that we discussed a few minutes ago, also says that while ansar al-sharia took credit, they called for the embassy in tripoli to be attacked too. so why weren't assets being moved against the potential that the embassy in tripoli would be under attack? that other embassies around the region would not just see demonstrations outside them but recall aed attacks as well? some of the things that the pentagon did that we've seen i think are sort of automatic responses but why wasn't there greater concern this attack in benghazi might simply be the opening shot of a broader attack?

that is where i think the ideology of the administration comes to bear. they couldn't bear to believe it. jenna: good questions for lindsey graham who will be joining us in 40 minutes, ambassador. we know the initial response was a handful of marines and that's it. so we'll be talking to him more about that and good questions you raised for us today. thank you so much. >> thank you. jon: so what about the political impact of all this, the libya attacks? what's it doing to the prospects of the two presidential contenders less than two weeks from the elections? joining us now, cory elams, former communications advisor to president obama. matt sclap, former white house political director under president george w. bush. cory, to you first of all. there is a feeling out there this administration didn't want to call this a terror attack because they didn't want to admit that something like that had happened on their watch. is there anything in these e-mails that suggests otherwise? >> well, i'm not so sure about that. i think we need to again go

back to last week's debate and go back to the comments the president made immediately after the attacks, the very next day when he stood in the rose garden he said look, we will not allow these terrorist attacks to go unanswered. he said that in the rose garden. the second thing, the president made very clear this week his two main priorities, one as secretary clinton just said, find out what happened here. find out where the breakdown was, whatever the breakdown was, fix it and make sure it never happens again. secondly hunt undo the individuals and organizations that committed these terrorist acts and bring them to justice. anybody who has been paying attention over the past two years knows when president obama says something like that he absolutely means it. what's unfortunate in this period right now is the overt effort to poe lit sizes this issue. you had governor romney's campaign issuing press release within hours of the attack. you had just last week chairman issa and oversight committee dumping documents, revealing names of individuals who were

supporting us in the region. not only endangering them but dissuading other individuals in the region who might help us with this very investigative effort. right now we all need to take a breath. we need to let politics stop at the waters edge and we need to focus on accuracy over this issue. jon: politics as you well know, cory is also about electing leaders who are going to handle a policy one way or the other. matt, let's talk about this. have republicans, have has the romney campaign been politicizing this tragedy? >> no, actually, if you saw the debate the other night, jon, i think actually he is trying to be measured in his responses. the only people who have been too political here are the, is president obama in his foreign policy team. they knew two hours after the attacks that an al qaeda affiliate was taking credit for this. they overrode the intelligence from what they were hearing from their own people, on the ground, in libya, and tried to blame a youtube video for this.

you wouldn't override the intelligence you hear from the ground that quickly unless you were doing that because you had some political reason to do that. so the only people that are making this about politics is the, president obama and his administration. they're the ones who are turning it into that. that is why it is important to get answers now. i agree we want to be level and measured and careful but it is very alarming that the obama administration realized al qaeda attacked us on september 11th, and they chose to do nothing, even knowing ahead of time that something like this could happen on this day. this is exactly what got us into the problem in the first place on september 11th. jon: cory, you said, let's find out who did this and respond appropriately. secretary of state hillary clinton just said the same thing but i'm thinking back, 11 years, september 11th, 2001, we were attacked, and it was roughly a month later we already had, you know troops in place. we were allied with the northern alliance and we were going after usama bin laden and the taliban government, you know, the results of that attack took

just a month. what about some kind of follow-onto this one? >> well, i think right now we're still in the stages of gathering all the information from what happened during this attack. and look, there is some difference between being attacked in foreign sole -- soil on a consulate and being attacked in domestic soil in the dramatic way we were on september 11th. there are different circumstances that impact those situations. but look, at the end of the day secretary clinton just said it, jay carney, said it as well, we're assessing random pieces of information as they're coming in in realtime. is there a problem with the way that information was assessed? potentially. is it being investigated and looked at right now? absolutely. the president and secretary of state have said as much. what we don't need is for this to be discussed in a public way that gives our enemies overseas a sense that we are, as ambassador bolton just said, weak. because we're not. we're a strong nation and it

came up in your previous segment as well, when we do this, when we don't leave politics at the waters edge it puts us in a position of peril. so as i said before, accuracy, over expediency is what we should be focused on. jon: let me get matt's response. >> cory you're in a tough decision today having to defend a huge slip-up which made this country less safe. the fact this was not random pieces of information that was coming in. it was coming in as ambassador bolton said, to people high up in the state department at the dod, at the nsc, in the situation room which goes to the president and his team. they knew from their own people on the ground in libya that this was an al qaeda attack two hours after the attack. so this is not random. this is very clear. and the president is the one who chose to make it political by avoiding revealing those facts. he knew that immediately after this attack. he should have told the american people what he knew. jon: matt and cory, thank you both. and just this footnote. we'll be talking next hour

with mike baker, former cia operative, how this kind of information gets collected and whether a facebook posting was meaningful or not. that is coming up next hour. jenna: that's a good question. we'll be looking forward to that. less than two weeks to election day at this point and polls showing governor romney and president obama are in a virtual tie. we'll take a closer look at the ground game in ohio, a critical battleground state that could end up determining who wins the white house. plus a brazen smash-and-grab. now police have a big announcement.

i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you.

call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people

who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. jon: cat burglars they are not. new information in a brazen smash-and-grab in western michigan. police say they have now arrested the passenger you see in this tape. investigators say a couple of teenagers crashed a stolen pickup through the brick wall of a gas station. they stole some cigarettes and alcohol. you see the driver then starting to hit reverse with

the passenger on the hood. he hops off, grabs some more goods and driver end up knocking out a gas pump, as he peels out. well, police quickly caught the suspected driver. both suspects are now charged with felony breaking and entering. jenna: well all eyes on ohio as we count down to election day. the swing state i should say playing a very critical role in the race for the white house. you have 18 electoral votes up for grabs in a state that picked the winner in the last 12 presidential elections. and the stakes may be even higher for governor romney because no republican as ever won the white house without ohio. both campaigns are working overtime. they're trying to get to undecided voters somewhere out there. mike tobin looking for them. hi, mike. >> reporter: jenna, it's

remarkable here at early voting. so much activity. 800,000 ohioians already dropped off a ballot due to the badgering of the campaigns the ground game is unlike anything we've seen before. up to nine half million personal contacts have been made by campaigns. they are armed with so much information when the personal contact is made, they address concerns specific to that household. with polls split in the single digits at their widest the ground game has never been as important, aggressive and detailed as it is in the key battle grand state of ohio. >> will you be supporting mitt romney and paul ryan this coming fall? >> reporter: jeff johnson is part of a team that knocked on nearly 300,000 doors just this week with the possibility efforts like his could decide the presidency there is a lot of weight on your shoulders? >> a lot of weight. a lot of weight. i put in 200 yard signs myself. >> reporter: both sides supported by pacs.

democrats supported by unions. their machine energized recently defeated anti-union law championed by the republican governor. >> it is a huge advantage and one of the things that isn't focused on by the national media because at end of the day it was state issue. >> reporter: through that, through the primary voting trends have been established. individual voters entered into databases and courted aggressively over the phone. >> do you know if charles will support mitt romney this year for president? >> reporter: think the mail and in person with detailed information about what that voter wants. >> there is no hiding under a rock. you have to be in a different universe if you haven't received some means of voter contact whether it's a phone call, whether it's a door knock or ads. >> reporter: every voter in the eye state knows his or her vote counts. >> we're all intensely aware here, right? >> reporter: if you live in one much these battleground states, you want the door knocking, want phone calls to stop, there is a way to do it. the vote early. the track something so specific, that the campaigns will know you voted and stop

spending money to contact you. jenna? jenna: sounds like a good tip, mike, thank you. jon: well, hollywood lending a little glamour to the presidential race. coming up the roles celebrities are playing in politics here and whether star power really sways votes

jon: hollywood is lending some glamour to the political campaigns. a-list celebrities putting fail to work, doing voiceovers, giving endorsements, holding fund-raisers for the person they want to see in the white house but how much impact do hollywood stars have on the election? can they sway your vote? william la jeunesse live in los angeles with a look at that william? >> reporter: the president himself put it this way when oprah decides she likes you than other people like you too. voters pattern where they

shop and wear celebrity endorsement lends credibility and validates the vote. others could care less. >> vote. >> vote. >> vote for barack obama. >> reporter: do they matter? we watched their movies ♪ , listen to their music. >> my personal style is easy. >> reporter: take their advice and buy their products but do celebrities influence voters? >> voters don't want to think that hollywood celebrities are telling them how to vote. they understand those people, their expertise is completely outside the political world. >> reporter: but that doesn't mean they're not valuable. >> people who do read a publication like "us weekly" probably aren't on political web sites but when they see pictures of these celebrities in these magazines endorsing the presidential candidates, they definitely are paying attention more. >> let's hear it for paul ryan!. >> reporter: a kid rock appearance drives turnout and generates media coverage. >> candidates try to surround themselves with

people from outside the political world in order to enhance their own credibility. >> every president inherits challenges. >> reporter: which helps explain why the president asked morgan freeman to narrate this ad and mitt romney recruited clint eastwood. while romney attracts his share of stars the edge goes to obama, with heavyweights like george clooney and jay-z and beyonce helping him raise $20 million. >> when you see celebrities come out for political events, it definitely brings a different demo, a different group of people into politics. >> reporter: example tonight, voters in las vegas can attend a katy perry concert for free but they will get an earful about president obama, a pro-obama rally that is. governor romney counters with an ad featuring clint eastwood. so the arms race over celebrities, jon, continues. jon: interesting. william la jeunesse in los angeles for us. hollywood maybe should say. william, thanks. jenna: rubbing shoulders with all the celebrities as

william does. brand new reaction to the bombshell e-mails suggesting an al qaeda link to benghazi terror attack as it was unfolding. we'll go more in depth on that just ahead. [ man ] ring ring... progresso

this reduced sodium soup says it mahelp lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just he to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

reporter: hello, everybody. a brand-new our of "happening now." newly uncovered e-mails about the conflict in libya that was getting attacked. what do they say? and point to a cover-up and we will go into. the the president's strategy less than two weeks from election day seems to be attacking governor romney. could it backfire? we will explore that as well print the body of a man attacked by a shark washes up on the shores of southern california. the very latest on that. all of that and breaking news as the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. ♪ ♪

jenna: crunch time on the campaign trail. getting key swing states, crisscrossing the country to the finish in the final sprint. i am generally. jon: and i am jon scott. just 13 days late and then let for the race for the white house for the have stepped up their schedules for the president heading for battleground states today and having overnight florida. governor romney also campaigning today in four states. john roberts, our senior correspondent, is live in reno, nevada. reporter: good afternoon, jon. welcome to very important washoff county. it is often said that as often this county goes, so goes the state of nevada. governor romney, as he did during the primary, trying to create a sense of inevitability great thing that he has the type of momentum that the president can't turn around in the time that is left in the campaign.

my. on the campaign trail in las vegas yesterday, governor romney suggesting that the president is fading. >> we have not heard an agenda from the president. that is why his campaign is treading on water and he has been reduced to defending characters on sesame street. word games of various kind. also misfired attacks one after another. jenna: and clint eastwood has cut a new ad from american crossroads. very much the same as that after the super bowl, saying thing that the country cannot afford another four years of president obama. jon: it must be tough keeping up with these candidates with all the traveling you are doing in these last few weeks. thank you so much for it.

reporter: we were traveling for 12 hours yesterday. the president is now coming up with something that looks like an agenda after romney says he doesn't have anything new. he put out a 24 page glossy brochure yesterday, a second term agenda, but it is a repackaging of everything we have known about for months. nothing new in there. on the campaign trail, the president continues to ridicule governor romney for his shift to the middle, saying he has conveniently forgotten all of his past positions. what the president cheekily calls "rom-nesia." suggesting that his policies are smoke and mirrors or horribly out of date. here's the president from yesterday. >> we know that governor romney is joplin doesn't really create jobs. we know that his plan doesn't really reduce the deficit. his foreign policy is from the 1980s. before the cold war was over.

his social policy from the 1950s. in his economic policies are from the 1920s. jon: even after the debate on monday night, governor romney has been all about domestic issues. expected to give a big speech, in formal speech on the economy, debt, and federal stimulus morning in cincinnati, ohio speech is the final days of the campaign. it will the president highlighted his own record and plans for the future is john roberts was talking about. is that pamphlet one of the directions that his campaign is going, or will the president's campaign continue to run this very negative campaign against governor romney until the bitter end? here is more of what the president had to say yesterday in ohio. >> he is doing everything he can to hide his true position and tell us what he thinks you want to hear, and then spend most of the time tell you what he thinks is wrong with america.

joe biden just talked about that. talking about america. he is terrific at making presentations about stuff that he thinks is wrong with america. and they cannot give you an answer about what will make it right. that is not leadership that you can trust. jenna: during the final debate, governor romney addressed the president's negative campaign, saying that attacking him is not an agenda for improving america. peter brown told political what we have been seeing is that the obama organization to the single best job of destroying a candidate i have ever seen in my career from may to september. but that all went out the window when mitt romney showed people that the caricature of him as a clown was false. charlie hurd is a columnist for the washington times. a lot of questions about what direction either campaign will go to. what is the final plan, and many have talked about the president

being very negative and defensive in some very key states. would he think of that strategy? >> welcome i think what we have seen all along is the big problem with basing a campaign on character assassination. when the character doesn't look down to that perception, you know, you have blown a lot of time, and wasted a lot of money. worst of all, you sort of lost some of your credibility when people are like, wait a minute, the guy is not that bad. i think it is a real problem that the campaign is grappling with this. is john roberts pointed out he came out with this new booklet. this 20 page glossy booklet. but the problem is newspapers like the "washington post" and "the new york times" which have had very long coverage of president obama this year, they are saying this is a repackaging of ideas. there is nothing new here. mitt romney and paul ryan continued to score what i think are very up effective points by

saying if you don't like the first four years, you won't like the second four years. staying on that attack. jenna: one of the things we keep hearing is shape shifter. that is the criticism of mitt romney coming from the democrats and liberals. interestingly enough, that was some of the criticism is coming from conservatives on mitt romney during the primaries. where was he and where is his compass as far as some of these major policy decisions like health care, for example. so how does mitt romney come in the next 13 days, how does he address that, if at all? >> you know, this is a fascinating thing. i have began to wonder whether or not mitt romney didn't kind of inoculate himself a little bit with conservatives about all that. because he had such a long and arduous primary. remember how we kept having newt gingrich and rick santorum -- every two weeks, there is a new candidate that was challenging him. and they challenged him on this argument. and he managed to kind of come

out unscathed. i kind of wonder is if that maybe didn't inoculate a little bit now, that he sort of was able to keep to the right. but i think the biggest thing on the right is that people are so distraught about the direction of the country. they are so disappointed in president obama that you are not going to shake them loose. jenna: if i could, charlie come on, on this come about not shaking them loose, mike allen from politico had this to say. he said a cold shower for the gop. most polling shows romney trailing in ohio, wisconsin, nevada, new hampshire and iowa. he has compared that to barack obama, saying that whatever else frequents and who frequents and hats, barack obama had the mask. what about that part of all this and you see this tight race all of a sudden and what about the reality of romney finish it out.

reporter: i think it is smart to be cautious for republicans. but the big difference is what hillary clinton, barack obama was putting this behind him, the masses were building up behind him and it couldn't be undone. now, very little are behind us. most voters haven't voted yet. and so with momentum going in this direction, i would rather be mitt romney today than president obama in terms of the trajectory of the two campaigns. jenna: is that makes you a shape shifter, i'm curious about that the next time you talk. [laughter] jenna: i look forward to having you back, as always. jon: the white house is facing new questions about what it knew and when regarding the terrorist attack on libya. and the state department and the white house knew a militant group linked to al qaeda is claiming responsibility, even as the u.s. compound was still in

flames. we are told about 400 national security personnel received e-mails in real time. the first e-mail, sent about 4:00 p.m. eastern on september 11. it reads at the regional security office reports of the diplomatic office is under attack. approximately 20 armed people fired shots from explosions have been heard as well, and ambassador stevens, who is currently in benghazi, and for it personal or in the compound safe haven for the 17th of february militia is providing security support. just 10 hours later, excuse me, two hours later, an affiliate of al qaeda, embassy tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on facebook and twitter and called for an attack on the embassy tripoli. we do have a response from the white house. jay carney saying that there was

a variety of information coming in. the whole point of an intelligence community and what they do, to make judgments about what happened and who is was responsible. let's talk with a former member of the intelligence community. our guest is the presidentof diligence. a global security firm. i want to play for you first something from hillary clinton just a short time ago. take a listen. >> posting something on facebook is not in and of itself evidence. i think that it underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continues for some time to be. jon: she is referring to al qaeda affiliate group read now, you have been a cia officer.

what you do is pulling information from lots of sources, newspapers, conversation, maybe even from facebook postings, and combining that in your intelligence assessment. >> you have to understand when the situation develops in an attack begins, it is complete chaos. you are talking about an attack in benghazi, which is 1000 kilometers away from tripoli. those individuals bear are not sitting around providing informed updates as to what is happening. they are trying to save their lives and the lives of those around them. so what you have is the regional security office, he has become aware of the attack. he is trying to make sense of it and provide an update. the state department and the white house situation room is screaming for information about what is going on.

they are screaming for information. so you have various sources. the nsa is saying, okay, can we gather anything from the technical communications. we have all this information flying in from different directions, and it is chaotic. and you have to be very careful at the outset as to how you interpret that information. but you have to understand also that you don't just immediately take it and discard some of it and say that this may be the result of a spontaneous protest that was upset about the video. that is the part regarding a rush to go to that. you have the chaos and the various strands of information. jon: we are still six weeks out from this thing, almost, and still, they have not determined, apparently, who was responsible. should it be taking that long? >> no, it shouldn't be. this is a partner can drive you

crazy. we are talking six weeks on about who did what one. what we should be talking about is why this occurred in first the first place. this occurred in the first place because that facility a year ago was not properly protected. one of those e-mails that we talked about at the outset of the program, they mentioned the ambassador and the other personnel are in a safe haven. the safe haven was a closet. it also talked about the february 17 brigade providing security support. the bunch of undead young libyans being provided with weapons and used as our primary security elements at that point for this. what we should be discussing is not what we have a certain point after this is why this occurred in the first place. that is where the screwup is. jon: so much to learn from this event. mike baker, thank you for helping us out. >> thank you. jenna: the government refuses to

designate the killings three years ago as a terror attack. survivors and victims are outraged. senator graham joins us next

jenna: growing outrage after the obama administration's handling of the forklift massacre. they are refusing to classify the shootings left 14 people dead as a terrorist attack. the victims and families want those with who survived to be awarded the purple heart. lindsey graham once that decision to be reconsidered. senator graham, it is great to talk you about this because you served in the military. you were in air force lawyer as well. you have a good sense of what are the designations and the importance of rules as well. someone you disagree with the administration's characteristics

and characterizing this attack, and why do you think it should be different? >> i think that the family's request to have the family members receive compensation and be awarded the purple heart, it makes sense to me based on the facts. it is not my goal to interfere on trent interviewer on trent. but i think an administrative determination by the department of defense to classify this as a workplace violence situation, and that is not correct. i think the obama administration needs to designate this as an act of terrorism or recognition purposes. jenna: he says that survivors are eligible for the same medical benefits as any service member. they also point out that

redesignating this crime would somehow interrupt the court martial process. >> we are not redesignating this. we are looking at the classification by the department of defense in terms of benefits. were not allowed to get the purple heart for workplace violence. in my view, this is part of the war on terror. there is more of this to come. unfortunately, they are our own citizens. you know, when american citizens joined the germans and there was an attack on the american soil, i say this is the war come into our backyard in the majors going to get a full defense.

i'm not asking him to change the charge sheet. i am asking him to reconsider the designation. the purple heart beneficiaries have different benefits than someone who has violence in the workplace. we need to recognize this. jenna: we would like to get your thoughts as well on the new information that has come to light about the attacks in benghazi. ambassador bolton has an interesting perspective on what he felt the response should be. from the pentagon that moves the story in a different direction. we would like to get your response to that in a moment. we will take a quick commercial break and be right back smoothest riding. it's got the most torque, the smoothest suspension, the best storage, class-leading comfort, and a revolutionary collection of versatile accessories. introducing the all-new, 60 horsepower ranger xp 900, a whole new class of hardest working, smoothest riding. get huge rebates on 2012's

and low financing on all models during the polaris factory and loauthorized clearance.dels and these come together, one thing you can depend on is that these will come together. delicious and wholesome. some combinations were just meant to be. tomato soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. to tell real people about our new 15 under $15 menu. oh my goodness! oh my gosh, this looks amazing! that's a good deal! [ man ] wow! it is so good! [ male announcer ] our new maine stays! 15 entrees under $15, seafoodchicken and more! oo! the tilapia with roasted vegetables! i'mctually looking at the wd grilled chicken with portobello wine sauce. you so fascinated by the prices, you keep rambling on! i know! -that pork chop was great! -no more fast food friday's!

so we gotta go! we're going to go to red lobster. yep. [ male announcer ] try our 15 under $15 menu and sea food differently!

jenna: senator graham is back with us to talk about these new e-mails that have come to light. fox news has received these e-mails that talks about how this terror attack was being related in benghazi. back to washington dc.

and who is taking responsibility for it and what does this mean now that we know that high-ranking officials in the state department and white house have received these e-mails that said a terror attack is happening right now at a consulate. senator graham, you have responded to some of the new information. broadly speaking, what are your thoughts? >> with further proof of a terrorist attack being reported to the officials in washington in real-time, but just as soon as the attack occurred, people from libya were transmitting via e-mail that this was a terrorist attack in progress. they named the people involved, the al qaeda splinter group and why wasn't the counterterrorism group evacuated? there are working groups within our government. the job is to deal with terrorists. why wasn't some terse working

group activated, advising the president of how can we help these poor people? why did we not have any military assets or ci assets position on 9/11, paul bates, coming to the aid of these people for over seven hours. it is important, it is another piece of evidence. it was never a spontaneous riot. was being reported in real-time. it makes president obama's administration look bad. it makes him look like they are stonewalling. i wrote a letter to the cia director who are for director of national intelligence, asking for any information that provided to the president in april and june, the consulate was previously attacked in april and june. they are stonewalling me. they are leaking memos to "washington post" reporters and columnists. the white white house is tryinge weakest talking points memo from the cia that it was a riot.

well, this is another piece of evidence that was never a riot by a video. it was a preplanned terrorist attack and while the attack is going on, why was nothing done to help these people? jenna: that is something that ambassador bolton brought it to us last hour as well. senator graham, i think it is crucial. a lot of conversation about the benghazi attack is in the rearview mirror, looking backwards. and we had a responsibility to look forward as to the path ahead for this country and national security. one of the questions raised that you just raise is if terratec was even mentioned, why weren't more forces, whatever they were, sent in to help our people on the ground there. the question that services is are we truly prepared at this time under this administration to respond to a terror attack of any sort that threatens us overseas or at home?

remark i know for a fact that we have in place an interrogation team made up of fbi, cia, whose job is to go out and gather information from terror suspects. i also know that the counterterrorism working group under the national security advisers, whose job is to come up with responses to terrorist attacks. why wasn't i group activated. and if it wasn't activated, that is just a really big national security malpractice. after 9/11, how could we not be prepared to deal with an attack and why did they pick the narrative to explain this attack is a mob riot video. if it was in fact an al qaeda inspired attack, so much for the narrative that al qaeda has been dismantled. this is disturbing. we are seeing in real-time, jenna, but it was a terrorist

attack. people are telling us on the ground, why did we not respond in real-time? why did we not call the working group together, and how could we have let these people so unprotected and undefended for over seven hours on september 11. jenna: that is an important question. secretary clinton said today that there is cherry picking and information hiding taking place. >> can i respond that? the cherry picking of information is saying that it was about the riots. that was cherry picking. they are stonewalling us. they are not acting transparent for being honest. not sharing information. i don't trust these people. they're covering themselves in the worst way. we are not getting any real response for a media that carries. jenna: what happens next is one of the big questions we continue to follow. senator graham, thank you for taking time to be with us today.

jon: we have been talking about the brand-new developments concerning that attack in libya. many people are asking what was the military reaction on the ground there. didn't we have options to stop the attack and revives? we will have answers on those questions. also, laying the groundwork for a permanent war on terror. looking at the secret blueprint for tracking terror suspects and what to do with them are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

jenna: some new reaction as we've seen really over the

last several hours to the attack on our consulate in libya that left the ambassador and three other americans dead on september 11. fox news obtaining state department e-mails detailing the attack in realtime and seeing that in those e-mails the attack was being called a terror attack. being that's true, what military options could have been taken that might have made a difference? that is one of the questions senator graham just raised in our program. national security correspondent jennifer griffin with more live from the pentagon. >> reporter: hi, jenna. u.s. officials argue strafing the streets of benghazi while not knowing exactly what was going on would have been a mistake. here is what the pentagon did do. they sent a small team of special operators from tripoli to benghazi a f.a.s.t. team of marines from spain were set to guard the embassy but stayed to tripoli. a central operations group was moved from europe to italy, 485 miles from

benghazi. f-16s and apache helicopters however remained on the tarmac in northern italy. they were not moved. two navy destroyers already in the med were moved off the coast of libya the day of the attack. >> the united states military to say they were 480 miles away and they couldn't do anything and couldn't move one aircraft in eight hours? i would say it is time to relief a lot of people in the chain of command. but i just don't believe that. >> reporter: the fighting at the consulate was over within one hour according to the recently leaked state department e-mails obtained by fox news. u.s. officials say a poor intelligence picture on the ground during the attack made the possibility of friendly fire a real possibility and u.s. officials say they needed permission from the libyan government for overflight. >> if your ambassador has been either killed or captured, and is missing at the hands of terrorists, you do not ask any country for

mother may i, before you come across the border to save your own. we have many times gone across borders. we do it every day in pakistan. that's how we killed usama bin laden. >> reporter: tyrone woods, former seals were killed by a mortar on the roof of the second location at 4:00 a.m., nearly seven hours after the initial attack. the machine gun they were firing we're told was caked in blood, suggesting they continued firing after they were hit. jenna? jenna: jennifer griffin, live at the pentagon, thank you. jon: there is a new report in "the washington post" revealing secret plans by the obama administration to fight what at toes a permanent war own terrorism. three part outlines a blueprint and a program for targeting killing. it includes contingency

plans to identified suspects but remain beyond the reach of killer drones. greg miller, "washington post" reporter and lead reporter on this story. it is a fascinating piece of business. it shows, greg, how much things have changed in terms of our attitudes going after terrorists since the original september 11th attacks. >> jon, you're absolutely right. think that is one of the most important points to take away here that this is a country throughout its history very unfom -- uncomfortable with the idea of assassination or targeted killing. after 9/11 embraced in what people considered short term basis, finite and emergency basis but now we know that this administration is mapping out plans that would sustain targeted killings perhaps as long as a decade or maybe even more. jon: you say we have reached a number of roughly 3,000 taken out in these drone strikes? so we're closing in on the

number of people who died in the 9/11 attacks. >> that's one of the milestones out there. there are no really proven accounts of how many casualties there have been in the drone campaign but most estimates put it in the vicinity of about 3,000 or approaching 3,000 which is how many were killed obviously in one day on september 11. so over the past 10 years that number of those killed in drone strikes which includes both militants and some civilians has been growing. jon: but as you heard in the foreign policy debate governor romney for instance said, we can not kill our way out of the terrorism problem. part of your reporting suggests that this, this matrix that is being built is being built sort of for permanent use? >> yeah, that's right. and governor romney's point is one that many in this administration have echoed, that's something you hear frequently. there is realization we can't kill our way out of this but the alternatives

are scarce and this is seen, drone strikes are seen as such as an effective tool nobody is proposing setting those aside right now. it is something that will continue for a long time. the other solution, some of which, governor romney alluded to in that debate are harder. they're getting at root causes of radicalization and changing opinions and attitudes in other parts of the world. jon: so drone strikes can work in places like pakistan when the pakistani government aproves them but certainly there are people we'd like to take out in places like egypt, right? what happens if we find one of these would-be terrorists in egypt? that's what this does position matrix as it is called is about. it is mapping out those kinds of contingencies because you're right, the drone strikes we've known and written about for the past five or so years have mainly happened in three places. in pakistan, in yemen and in somalia. but the turmoil across the

middle east, north africa, now points to the possibility that you could have al qaeda elements emerging, surfacing in places where you don't have u.s. drone patrols. so this, you know, this is an exercise in trying to figure out what do you do in those circumstances? especially since some of these u.s. counterterrorism relationships with countries like egypt have been turned completely upside down. jon: greg miller is the intelligence reporter at "the washington post." it is a fascinating series running in the post. greg, thank you. >> thanks very much. jenna: we'll watch for more on that. meantime some context now on the expanding use of drones in the war on terror. what does that mean? we're talking so much about our defense budget. how do drones stack up against other weapons, other vehicles that we're using? rick folbaum is digging into some of the numbers for that context. rick? >> reporter: they're definitely a bargain, relatively speaking of course. look at the cost of the two most used drone models. this is the mq-9 reaper it is called and that dollar amount you see on the screen

actually includes four separate aircraft and censors, bringing the total to 2.4 million per drone. mq-1, cheaper. 4 million dollars get four aircraft, a ground control station and a satellite link. look at more traditional military weaponry. this is f-22 raptor fighter jet. 123 million. keep in mind the raptor has never been used in iraq, goon began or libya. navy destroyer on the screen runs 1.75 billion, and the navy is building two of them in, next year. m-1 abrams tank, has price tag similar to cheaper models of drones. these are manned vehicles. $5.78 million each. the apache attack helicopter, a little more than 37 million per chopper. 10 have been ordered for 2013. finally the president's line on horses and bayonets at the debate monday night got

a lot of attention. if you're wondering there is the price of a marine bayonet, $36.35. one more thing from the debate, jenna, governor romney supports the current drone program and would continue it if he is elected president. jenna: you have to have places to launch those drones though. that is one of the interesting things, where do they launch from? where do you set it up? maybe one of those aircraft carriers, who knows. rick, thank you. bayonets, sounds like a bargain. jon: the basics. jenna: the basics, right. jon: well ties don't just happen in sports. could happen in the electoral college in a very tight presidential race. it's a very real scenario, perhaps unlikely but real. who goes to the white house in case the election night ends in an electoral college tie? plus a popular stretch of beach shutdown after a shark kills a surfer. what we know now about this attack. ♪

chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save.

jenna: now a fox news extreme weather alert out of the caribbean where tropical storm sandy has strengthened into a category 1 hurricane on track to hit jamaica today, eastern cuba tomorrow and the tropical storm watch is at southern florida. it could cause severe weather for the u.s. east coast later this week. we'll keep a close eye on it for you here on "happening now." the. jon: well, on election night all eyes will be on the electoral college vote count until ones the magic number of 270. or, the electoral vote splits down the middle, 269-269. so what happens if the race for the white house ends in a tie? could happen. mike emanuel live in washington. mike? >> reporter: hi, jon. yeah, in a very close presidential race one possible scenario is electoral tie. president obama's expected wins are the blue states. governor romney's are in

red. the battle over remaining 11 in yellow. one way it could be tied, if florida and the western battleground states go for governor romney, than the northern battleground states go for the president. so i asked a couple of our electoral map experts about the possibility of a 269-269 fin finnish in which case the house of representatives choose the next president. >> the senate decides who the vice president is. probably would still be in democratic hand and would pick joe biden. you would have a romney-biden ticket, made president and vice president of the united states. it would one crazy finish to one crazy election year. >> highly unlikely you about never say never particularly until a race this close. i doubt we're going to get there. i think the odds are approaching 1% or less but, you know, this has been a crazy election. >> reporter: but it would make for great electoral

drama if neither candidate gets the critical 270 electoral votes. jon? jon: yes, what if harry reid puts himself up to be vice president? one never knows. >> reporter: there you go. jon: mike emanuel, thank you. jenna: it is a fox news exclusive. first lady laura bush sitting down with a one-on-one interview with megyn kelly. you want to hear what she has to say about the treatment of women around the world and advice in the final days of the 2012 campaign.

jenna: new developments at this hour surrounding a deadly short attack off the coast of california. investigators now providing more details about the victim. rick has more for us now on this, rick? >> reporter: jenna this man was killed yesterday morning while surfing north of the brandenburg air force base

in southern california. his name is francisco soloro, jr.. he was 39 years old. deputies say he was bitten by a shark in his upper torso, killing him. >> you know, it just kind of goes to show you life is real vulnerable. you have to have your things in order to, to kind of deal with the unexpected. it is unfortunate what happened to francisco and unfortunate to his family. >> reporter: he was apparently surfing with three of his buddies when he was attacked by the shark. one of them helping to bring his body to shore. police are talking to those three as they continue to investigate this. and they're trying to find out, jenna, what kind of shark was involved in the attack. they still don't know. as we learn more we'll pass it along to you. jenna: scary. rick, thank you. jon: we're watching markets in this country after yesterday's big loss as yet another economic shock rocks europe. the ford motor company faced with slumping demand across europe announces plans to

close a plant in belgium. that threatens thousands of jobs there. greg palkot be looking at it live from london. >> reporter: jon, another sign of the european company driving off the road. ford closing one of its big factories in belgium, set to close in 2014 could cost 4300 jobs plus. debt crisis, economic slowdown in europe has hit the company hard and it is a good example as anyhow the european crisis is affecting the united states. the dearborn, michigan based carmaker counts on europe for one quarter of its car sales. it is set to lose a billion dollars in europe alone. the french carmaker peugeot, be announced close to $30 billion in government back the loan guaranties. general motors holds a big stake in this company and there are several deals in the works to develop vehicles between gm and

peugeot. this is as the overall economic picture in europe is not looking too good. despite all the efforts by governments here to cut back the overall debt in europe is the highest it has ever been. in the most recent quarter, it represented 90% of the value of the eurozone economy. in greece, the greek debt, 150% of the economy. six countries are in recession. others close to it. even german business confidence is looking towarding to recent surveys announced today. jon, despite all this, european stock markets up slightly. they saw relatively good numbers coming out of china. they look for hope anywhere. back to you. jon: greg palkot, live in london. greg, thank you. jenna: what we're about to show you may look like a photo-op for the president but if you look really, really carefully, you will see someone else making the most of this opportunity. if you don't see it now it might be a little tough, we'll take a closer look at

this campaign photo. show you what we're talking about, coming up. you don't want to miss. ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] it started long ago. the joy of giving something everything you've got. it takes passion. and it's not letting up anytime soon. if you're eligible for medicare, you might know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company.

like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help pay some of the difference. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now to request a free decision guide to help you understand medicare. and which aarp medicare supplement plan might work best for you. there's a range to choose from, depending on your needs and your budget. and they all travel with you -- anywhere in the country. best of all, you'll be joining the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. ♪ remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs.

you'll be able to choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. and you never need referrals. so call now to request a free decision guide and learn more. after all, when you're going the distance, it's nice to have the experience and commitment to go along with you. keep dreaming. keep doing. go long. see do we know that campaign season can be a little intense for and we need to take a break now and then and reflect on some of the lighter moments of the campaign. the president of the united states visited the school. one little guy was ready to take advantage of that. it is hard to figure the one-way in the top row, yes, he focused

on winning the heart of the little girl sitting next to him. he didn't care about the president. giving her a big smooch right there. that was on the photo, the photo of the day. it doesn't change from then on out. from that age on,, that is just one of the way things go. jon: he looks stunned. jenna: she looks like she could care less. that a girl. play hard to get. jon: he was committed. jenna: give him props for that. baseball has one, football has one, and so does rock 'n roll. did you know that robots have their own hall of fame as well? jenna: i did not know that. jon: carnegie mellon university creativeness. the inductees include wall-e and a pac-bot.